My Sister's Keeper
by actlikesummer
Summary: Carlie Scott is Jason's little sister. She hasn't had a normal life, but now her life is getting even more complicated. Can the rangers help her or will she have to make the biggest choice of all?
1. Intro

It's like those times in movie where the character is dying and everything they love is flashing before their eyes. When I woke up that day I never thought I would end up like this…but it's happening. It's really happening.

As my death approached me I thought about everyone I'd be leaving behind. Billy and the generosity he showed in helping me with my homework; Trini and the way she would teach me ways to be at peace with myself and how to deal with my brother; the way Zach helped me win the talent show at school by dancing with me; the times when Kim would take me shopping and help me pick out cute outfits for dates; the way Tommy acted like I was his sister; and Jason. I knew that by now he knew my tragic last moments were surrounding me and the thought of his broken heart killed me. But I knew this was the right decision. It had to be done. As the darkness descended upon me, the last person I thought of was my big brother and then…nothing.


	2. Chapter 1

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Carlie Leann Scott groaned as her alarm went off. She pulled her pillow from the floor to cover her head as light poured in on her through the window.

Just as she was about to fall back to sleep she heard, "You know we're going to be late for school if you fall back to sleep."

Carlie jumped a mile in the air and fell out of bed. She looked at the doorway and saw her older brother standing there, arms crossed over his chest and smirking at her. "Jason! You scared the shit out of me!"

He chuckled as he helped her up. Then he looked around her bed. "Looks like you had a rough night. Did you have that dream again?" His eyes showed a hint of worry now.

She thought about lying to him, but knew it wouldn't work. "Yes. It's weird, Jase. It's the same thing every night…and it ends with you screaming my name."

He shrugged. "Well don't worry too much about it. I'm not."

"Liar." She thought.

"You better get ready for school, Squirt. I don't want to be late because of you." He teased and tousled her messy hair.

Fifteen minutes later she was running out to Jason's car with a piece of toast in her mouth. They made it to school just before the bell rang. The siblings ran in different directions as they tried to make it to their first period classes. Carlie skidded into the room just as the bell rang.

Luckily the teacher was nice and excused it, but then she droned on the entire period lecturing about something in history. However Carlie wasn't listening. Instead she was scribbling words down in her notebook. Finally the period ended and Carlie went to her locker. When she looked up she smiled at the sight of her best friend, Bailey Martin.

"Hey Bails." She laughed.

"You wake up late again? Bet Jason loved that." Her friend joked.

Carlie nodded. "Well I didn't sleep well last night…again."

Bailey shrugged. "When do you ever sleep well? This is becoming a habit for you, Carls."

Carlie agreed, but they dropped the conversation as they went to their next class.

A few hours later and the last bell rang, signaling the end of the day. Students poured out of their classrooms, and hurried out of the building. Carlie said good-bye as Bailey ran for her bus, and made her way to her locker.

"I thought I'd find you here."

Carlie didn't need to turn around to know who was talking to her. "Well this is my locker." She sighed. "What do you want, James?"

He snickered. "You baby. Why don't we go out tonight? Just us…I want to show you a good time."

She laughed. "I think our definitions of a good time are very different so I'll have to pass. Plus…I don't date scumbags like you."

That made him angry and he grabbed her arm, pulling her to look at him. "You think you're funny? No one talks to me like that without getting their butts kicked."

She struggled against him. "I will fight you any time, anywhere…just not in school. I don't fight in school."

He grinned. "Then I guess this will be easy." He said as he pushed her to the ground, making her hit her side on her bag.

She yelled out in pain and then heard James growl. "What do you want, Scott?"

"I want you to leave Carlie alone." She heard her brother say as he stood over her.

"This is a private conversation between me and her. It isn't your business."

"Well she's my little sister…which makes my business." Jason said and pushed James away.

She heard him run away as she clutched her side. "Moron." She said.

Jason was at her side in an instant. "You okay?" He asked worriedly as he carefully helped her off of the ground.

She nodded. "I'm fine." She lied.

He knew she was lying but let it slide. "Nice bruise you have on her cheek. He must have pushed you hard for it to be showing this fast." He grinned and so did she. "Hey you got any plans right now?"

She grabbed her books as they walked to their car. "Just going home to do homework."

He nodded. "We were all going to Ernie's and I want you to come. You need to get out more…socialize. Come hang out with us."

Carlie shrugged one shoulder. "You seniors don't want a stupid sophomore hanging around."

He looked at her. "Now don't talk like that. You are not a stupid sophomore. You're my little sister and the group loves you. What is up with you lately? I mean the dreams, you acting like this…are you feeling okay?"

She was quiet but nodded. "Yes, Jason. I'm fine. It's just…I've heard it before."

Jason gripped the steering wheel hard. "You mean from Dad and his friends? Dad was a drunk, Carlie. He walked out on us! He's the stupid one, not you. You can't believe anything he says. Promise me you will let all of those thoughts out of your mind right now. They're not good for you." He scolded as he pulled into the parking lot.

She nodded, but did not speak. They got out of the car and walked into the Juice Bar. Carlie followed Jason up to his friends and stayed quiet.

"Just the girl I wanted to talk to." Ernie said from behind the bar. "Can you help me take these bags out back? I want to talk to you about something."

Carlie nodded and followed him with the bags. Jason watched her go and then turned back to his friends.

"Is Carls okay?" Zach asked his friend when she was out of earshot.

Jason shrugged. "I don't think so. I wanted to talk to you about something. Carlie told me that she's been having this dream every night for a while now."

"What dream?" Kim asked.

Jason sighed. "She said she was in some kind of castle or something. It was dark and creepy and she felt like she wasn't on Earth or even in our dimension anymore. She said she was fighting someone or something and then everything went black and she heard me screaming her name. I just don't know what to make of it, guys."

They were silent for a minute, and then Tommy spoke. "Maybe you should talk to Zordon about it. I mean…he might know something about this kind of thing."

Just then Carlie made her way over to them, a small smile plastered on her face. Jason looked at her curiously. "What's up with you?"

She shrugged. "Nothing."

He eyes her for a second and then smiled, happy to see her in a better mood.


	3. Chapter 2

That night Jason watched his sister carefully to make sure she was really okay. When it got late, she decided to go to bed. Around one AM, she heard creaking in the hallway. All though she knew it was probably Jason creeping to the kitchen to grab a snack, she still had some feeling that she should check what it was. The minute she got to her doorway, she knew she was wrong.

In the hallway were a bunch of ugly looking creatures. One turned and saw her, and attacked. She screamed and started using the martial arts skills that she learned from Tommy and Jason against it. Jason came pounding out of his room and immediately jumped in to help. Throughout all of the fighting however, Carlie couldn't help but notice just how comfortable Jason looked as he fought the monsters off. Suddenly she and Jason were both thrown together against a wall. Just as it looked like they were goners, the evil things disappeared. Jason immediately got up and helped Carlie up as well.

"Are you okay?" He was freaking out but she brushed him off.

"I'm fine, Jase. What were those things?" She asked and he hesitated.

"I don't know, Carls." He wasn't lying. "Go on back to bed. Are you sure you're okay?"

She nodded. "Yes."

They went their separate ways and fell asleep fine. However when Jason went to wake her up the next morning he knew something had happened. She was sweating and burning up. He did everything he could think of to get her fever down and it came down a bit, but he was still worried. He knew this was a result of something that happened the night before, and it scared him. Finally he called Tommy.

"Dude, get everyone and meet me at the Command Center. We have a problem." He said and teleported himself and Carlie out of their house.

When everyone arrived at the Command Center moments later, they saw Jason standing next to Carlie, who was lying on a recliner-like thing in the middle of the room. Alpha was scanning her and Zordon was overseeing the process.

"Jase…what happened?" Tommy asked as he approached his friend.

Jason sighed. "Last night we were attacked. Some new creature was in our house. They weren't putties. She helped me fight them off for a while but we got thrown into each other and against a wall. Then they just…disappeared. She said she was okay but when I woke up this morning I found her like this. It has to be from last night. What were those things, Zordon?"

"Those are a new trick of Rita's to try and throw you off so she can steal your powers. They have had a very unusual effect on young Carlie."

"But what did they do to her?" Jason asked.

"Not what they did to her, but what they did to both of you." He replied and everyone looked at Jason, who had a very confused look on his face.

"Excuse me? You need to explain Zordon."

"When you and Carlie were thrown against each other and made contact with the wall, some of your power was transferred to her. You can still do everything you were able to do before, but now she has some of that too."

Jason looked dumbfounded and pissed. "What? I do not want my sister being a power ranger! Ever since our mom died and our dad left I have been the one taking care of her. What happens now that she has powers? How am I supposed to deal with that too?"

Zordon looked at him. "Jason your sister has been given these powers for a reason. They chose her. You will not be alone in handling this, ranger."

Jason sighed as he watched Carlie lay there in front of him. "I knew teen years were going to be bad…but not this bad."


	4. Chapter 3

When Carlie woke up a little while later, she was confused. Her head hurt, and her whole body felt…different. She felt strange and she couldn't focus her vision very well and she was starting to freak out slightly.

Where was Jason? She couldn't figure out where her brother was and she started to worry that maybe something was wrong. He would never leave her for very long, especially after the events of that night.

When she did finally focus her sight, she nearly jumped out of her skin Standing in front of her was a robot, and it was talking to her. "Hello Carlie. How are you feeling?"

She stared at it with wide eyes. "Uh…"

"It is nice to see you awake and seemingly okay."

She slowly lifted her head to see Zordon. She squinted one eye and stared at him. "Who, er-what are you?" she looked around her. "Where am I?" She looked back at Zordon. "Where the Hell is my brother?"

"You are at the command center for the Power Rangers. My name is Zordon and that is Alpha. Jason brought you here after the attack at your house. You were out for many hours with a fever."

She glared at him. "Why would he do that? Why should I believe you?"

"You do not have a choice."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Fine. If my brother brought me here, where is he?"

"Observe the viewing globe." Zordon said quickly.

She hesitated and then looked around. When she saw the viewing globe, she walked over to it. Suddenly a view of the park appeared in front of her. She saw the Power Rangers and saw that they were fighting a monster. Ever since the school year started, weird monsters and creatures had been attacking the city and every time it happened, she could never find her brother or his friends.

Suddenly every thing started to make sense. The way he always wore red, and his friends always wore the same colors every day. They way she could never find him during a monster attack. The reason he looked so comfortable fighting the creatures in their house.

She turned to face Zordon. "My brother is the Red Ranger, isn't he?"

"Yes. He and his friends were chosen to help save the world from Rita and her monsters."

Carlie was angry. She and Jason told each other virtually everything. This was his biggest secret, and he didn't even tell her. She couldn't believe it. He had lied to her every time she asked where he had disappeared to. Now she wasn't sure ho to act.

"Carlie there is something else we need to discuss before the Rangers return." Zordon told her and she turned to face him. "When those creatures attacked you and Jason, they made some of his power transfer to you."

She looked at herself. "But…is that why I feel different?"

"Yes. You have a decision to make now, just like I gave to the Rangers when they first got their power. You have a choice, Carlie. You can choose to ignore this and go on living your life with your friends and your schoolwork. But we could use your help. You would not go into every fight, but if we needed extra help, but with some training, you could become our secret weapon, and the key to beating this new scheme of Rita's."

"What…?" She started but couldn't finish her thought.

"Alpha has managed to create a new morpher for you. You will have the powers of the red ranger, but instead you will have a different color." he spoke as Alpha came forward with the morpher. "You will be the purple ranger."

She sat down on the reclined bed thing that she had woken up on, and thought about it. She was only sixteen and she was being asked to assist the Power Rangers. So many things were swimming around in her head, and she wasn't sure how to silence them. She still could not believe that her brother had lied to her.

She stood and sighed. "Zordon…?" She nodded when she was sure she had said his name right. "I'll do it."


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

As soon as the monster was defeated, the rangers teleported back to the Command Center to check on Carlie. When they got there, however, she was nowhere in sight.

Jason demorphed and looked up at Zordon. "Zordon…where is Carlie?"

"So it's true."

They turned and saw her walk out of the shadows. She looked older, somehow, and she definitely had anger in her eyes. She stared at her brother, and kept her lips tightly pursed to show her anger.

"Carlie…"

"Don't Jason. I don't want to hear it. I can already see for myself the real reason that you disappear during monster attacks and the truth to everything else." She exclaimed. "I can't believe you didn't tell me." she paused. "But I am going to show you what you should have done. I now have something to tell you."

They all looked at her confused and Zordon spoke. "Carlie has accepted the choice to become our secret weapon against Rita and her new monsters."

Jason looked at his sister. "You did?"

She nodded. "Yeah. And I made the decision without you, because it looks like I have truly been on my own for a long time." she made direct eye contact with him. "You know…Dad was one thing. I knew he was a jerk. But you…you were the one person who always had my back and was always there for me. I can see now that while I get it, this is huge and you made the right decision, you probably weren't ever going to tell me and that hurts. So for now, I need time to think."

Purple light filled the Command Center and a second later Carlie was gone. Everyone was silent as they watched Jason for his reaction. He felt bad. He knew he should have told her but Zordon had told them not to tell anybody. The minute she had brought their father up, he could see that it was a mistake by not telling her. She was affected the most by everything he had done to their family, and by not telling her his biggest secret and lying to her for the whole year, he was slowly becoming that way in her eyes.

"I have to go find her." he said quickly.

"Jason…maybe you better let Kim and I go." Trini said quietly.

Kim nodded. "Yeah. Maybe we can talk to her and help her calm down a bit."

He hesitated but then agreed that letting the girls go was probably the best option. A second later the room was filled again with light, this time colored pink and yellow.

After they left, the boys decided to go to the Juice Bar, in hopes that when Kim and Trini found Carlie, they would bring her there. After they got their drinks, they sat at the table and Jason was quiet.

"She going to be okay, Jase." Tommy said patting his friend on the back.

"Yeah Tommy's right." Zach said. "Carlie's mad, but she could never stay at you for long."

"It's true. The amount of times that you have had bad moments with her, is far less than the good times. It is highly probable that you two will be okay by the morning, if not sooner." Billy chimed in.

Jason sighed. "I hope so."

Tommy watched his friend. "What else is bothering you."

"I promised her that I would never be like our father. I lied to her after I promised that I would always be honest with her. It wasn't to the same extent as him, but still. I hurt her and I promised I would never do that."

Tommy nodded. "Listen, you have always been there for Carlie, even before that jerk left you guys. But she knows that you care about her. She is just hurt that she didn't know. You guys will get through this."

Jason nodded. "Thanks guys. I wonder how the girls are doing."

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Carlie walked around the school grounds, trying to organize her thoughts. She had only been conscious for a few hours and already so much had happened that she was having trouble believing. Her brother was a Power Ranger and so were Tommy, Kim, Trini, Billy, and Zack. She didn't hang out with them on a regular basis, but on those rare occasions or when they were at the house, she never suspected a thing, which she was now embarrassed about.

She racked her brain, praying that she hadn't admitted a crush or a liking for one of them-that would just be awkward. On another level, she still couldn't shake the feeling that this had something to do with her dream.

She was in the middle of freaking out, when suddenly she heard running behind her. She whipped around, only to see Kim and Trini running towards her. "Carlie!"

She sighed. "Hey guys."

They slowed to a stop and then came up next to her. "You know he didn't mean to lie to you, right?"

She nodded and looked at the ground. "I know. It just hurts that he did. My father did for years and it makes it hard to trust people. I just hate that he would do that." She looked at them. "I know that he wasn't allowed to, but it still hurts."

Kim hugged her. "I'm sorry, hon. Jason has had a lot on his mind this year. From being our leader so to speak, to saving the world, to you…."

"Me?" She asked.

Trini nodded. "He is worried about what is going to happen next year. We graduate in June and doesn't know what to do."

Carlie bit her lip. "Crap. Now I feel bad for getting mad at him. But I am still hurt."

"It's okay to be hurt. Just don't let it ruin your wonderful relationship with your brother." Kim shrugged.

"It won't." She suddenly looked up. "Can I tell you guys a secret? You cannot tell Jason." They gave her a look and she laughed. "This is a good secret and a surprise."

The girls smiled and nodded. "You remember when Ernie pulled me out to talk the other day?"

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After her talk with Kim and Trini, Carlie went home. After she had been home for a while, Jason walked through the door.

"Hey Carls…can we talk?" he asked and when she nodded he sat down on her bed. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

She shrugged. "It isn't a big deal-really. I am just hurt. But it isn't entirely your fault. You couldn't tell me, I know."

He nodded. "I still should have. You deserve at least that much."

She smiled. "Thank you. But honestly I am over it. I need to learn to get over things faster."

He shrugged. "So the purple ranger. You seem so different now that you have powers."

She laughed. "I guess. I don't really feel too different."

"You seem way more grown up. It's weird." he tousled her hair and she laughed.

"Stop doing that!" She tackled him and he laughed.

"You didn't not just do that."

They were soon tired from the long day and just as Jason was leaving her room his communicator went off. "Jason, there is a monster attacking Angel Grove again. We need you!"

Sending a look of annoyance at his sister he teleported out. Carlie chuckled at his look and grabbed her communicator. "Zordon…am I needed?" She felt weird that this was actually happening.

"Not yet, Carlie. If they need you we will call."

She nodded and sighed. "Got it."

For now, she would just have to wait and hope everything turned out okay.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 6

A few days later, Kim and Trini walked into the Juice Bar with big smiles on their faces. They walked past a small stage that Ernie had set up for the night's entertainment and saw their friends sitting at a table.

"Where's Carlie?" Jason asked immediately. "I thought you guys took her shopping."

They glanced at each other and smiled. "She'll be here soon."

Jason was about to say something when Ernie tapped the microphone. "Hey guys. So for tonight's entertainment I hired a young girl that I think you will recognize. Put your hands together for Carlie Scott."

The boys looked at each other in shock as Kim and Trini laughed.

Oh oh oh

Oh oh oh

You were in college working part-time waiting tables

Left a small town never looked back

I was a flight risk with a fear of falling

Wondering why we bother with love if it never lasts

I say can you believe it

As we're lying on the couch

The moment I can see it yes yes

I can it now

Do you remember we were sitting there by the water

You put your arm around me for the first time

You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter

You are the best thing that's ever been mine

Flash forward and we're taking on the world together

And there's a drawer of my things at your place

You learn my secrets and your figure out why I'm guarded

You say we'll never make my parent's mistakes

But we got bills to pay

We got nothing figured out

When it was hard to take yes yes

This is what I thought about

Do you remember we were sitting there by the water

You put your arm around me for the first time

You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter

You are the best thing that's ever been mine

Do you remember all the city lights on the water

You saw me start to believe for the first time

You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter

You are the best thing that's ever been mine

Oh oh oh

And I remember that fight; 2:30 AM

'cuz everything was slipping right out of our hands

I ran out crying and you followed me out into the street

Braced myself for the goodbye 'cuz that's all I've ever known

Then you took me by surprise

You said I'll never leave you alone

You said "I remember how it felt sitting by the water

And every time I look at you it's like the first time

I fell in love with a careless man's careful daughter

She is the best thing that's ever been mine

Hold on we'll make it right

Hold on never look back

You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter

You are the best thing that's ever been mine

Do you believe it?

Hold on

We're gonna make it now

Hold on

I can see it

I can see it now

She smiled as she sang the last part and everyone cheered for her. Jason ran over to her and hugged her.

"That was awesome!" he exclaimed and she smiled.

"Thanks…but I still have more to perform…"

He laughed and let her continue, going back to sit with his friends.

"That is why Ernie asked her to help with the trash the other day. He asked if she would perform here." Kim smiled.

"I didn't know that she could sing." Jaosn smiled and watched his sister perform another song.

"She wrote all of these songs herself." Trini told him.

He watched his sister's smiling face and in his stomach he knew things were going to be okay.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Although Carlie had joined the ranger team, Rita was still wreaking havoc with her monsters, and over the next few weeks it was taking its toll on the teenagers.

"Zordon why can't we beat these guys?" Tommy asked after a battle one day.

"Rita has made them stronger. I fear that we will need to go in through her castle to defeat them."

Carlie, who had been called in to help, groaned as she rolled her shoulder. "Of course nothing with these guys can be done the easy way."

"Go home and get some rest rangers. I fear tomorrow will bring more terror and uncertainty. You must be ready for anything."

When Jason and Carlie got home, she put an ice pack on her shoulder. Jason looked at her. "You okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah. That was a crazy fight. I am worried, Jase. What if we don't find a way to beat these things? What happens then?"

He sighed and crossed his arms. "I don't know. But we can't give up. It is out job to save the world and that is exactly what we will do."

She nodded. Laying in bed that night, Carlie stared at the ceiling while thinking about the attacks. Ever since she became a ranger, her nightmares were getting more intense, which of course she didn't tell Jason.

A few days later, when the rangers teleported into the Command Center, they saw that Carlie was already there.

"Rangers we have come to a conclusion. You will all need to go into Rita's castle and defeat these creatures from the inside. It is the only way to defeat them entirely. Alpha has found a way to teleport you there and home safely, but inside we will have limited contact with you."

"Then let's do it." Jason said immediately.

They all nodded and morphed into their ranger forms. A few minutes later Alpha teleported them to the castle and when they got there, everything was dark.

"Guys be careful." Tommy whispered quickly.

Suddenly they were attacked and had to jump into action. As they fought, Carlie noticed a room to the side. She made her way over to it and saw that it was the room where the creatures were being produced. Glancing at her brother, fighting off the creatures, she knew that she had to stop the new ones that kept coming. Quickly, she ran into the room and found the machine that was making them. She couldn't find an off switch and after searching, she knew what she had to do.

"Zordon…tell my brother I am sorry." she said into her communicator.

Taking a deep breath she channeled her powers. Suddenly, the door to the room slammed shut, no doubt gaining the attention of the others. She closed her eyes and focused her powers so that they would all come together to work as one.

Suddenly the room was filled with light as the machine started to make noises and parts were flying off. She heard the pounding on the door and then the harsh cries of her friends and her brother.

She felt herself growing weak as the power grew too strong and suddenly everything was becoming black. Thinking of her friends and what they meant to her, she gave into the darkness.

"Jason…" She whispered as the darkness surrounded her for a final time.

Outside the door, the remaining rangers were trying to get into the room.

"Alpha we need to get out of here, Carlie's in trouble." Jason shouted. Immediately they were teleported back to the Command Center and Jason demorphed.

"Where is Carlie?"

"Jason. Your sister was very brave. She in turn, sacrificed herself to save the world." Suddenly a purple light filled the room and Carlie's body lay in front of them, demorphed.

Jason went to her slowly and dropped to his knees. "No. This can't be happening Zordon!"

"I am sorry rangers. This is a loss that does not come without great pain."

Jason stared at his sister's body, tears streaming down his face. "It will not end this way. We will defeat Rita…for Carlie."

Then he grabbed her hand and teleported out. Tommy teleported after him, leaving the others to grieve together, while he comforted and helped his best friend.


	8. Epilogue

Epilogue

Months later, after Rita was destroyed and the rangers were graduating, Jason went into Carlie's room. Sitting on the bed, he looked around and remembered the girl that used to sleep in there.

Feeling tears fill his eyes and his throat constrict, he swallowed and picked up the picture on her bedside table. It was a photo of the two of them from his birthday a few months before she died. He had his arm around her and she had her arms around his neck, her head cocked to one side and a huge smile on her face.

He stared at her face. Hours earlier he had graduated and while his peers looked around the room for their parents and families, he and his friends knew there was one person missing from the audience that should have been there.

Sighing, he laid down on her bed. The past few months without her were horrible, and while he knew that she was dead, he refused to believe he would never see her again. It was just too horrible a thought to comprehend.

"I love you Carls."


End file.
